


Wail

by tkayo



Series: Non-Platonic Subtext [5]
Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Established Relationship, Explicit Consent, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Ward - Wildbow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:20:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21928087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tkayo/pseuds/tkayo
Summary: *cocks gun* You Know What It Is, Bitch
Relationships: Victoria Dallon | Antares/Ashley Stillons II | Damsel of Distress | Swansong, Victoria Dallon | Glory Girl/Ashley Stillons | Damsel of Distress
Series: Non-Platonic Subtext [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1404040
Comments: 22
Kudos: 51





	Wail

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing's sexier than the 3 Cs: Consent, Communication, and Can Crush Your Head Between Her Thighs Like A Watermelon  
> \-----  
> surprise! fucking almost five months after the last fic in the series updated, there's finally some actual fucking. in case it wasnt clear, the whole ashley dying thing severely kneecapped my desire and ability to write.  
> also, this is like explicitly in the continuity of the previous works in the series so uh read those first if you havent cause at this point canon is just a faint point on the horizon.

The instant the apartment door clicked shut, Victoria’s lips were on Ashley’s, hands in her hair, pulling her into a furious kiss as she sandwiched her between her body and the door. 

After a moment of shocked surprise, Ashley melted into the kiss and the embrace. Victoria’s mouth was warm, lips _still_ chapped and rough despite the fact that she was making more of an effort to moisturise now that it was more immediately relevant.

“God,” Victoria immediately gasped upon pulling away, leaving Ashley breathless and panting against the wall. “I’ve been wanting to do that _all_ evening.”

Ashley shrugged off her coat, stretching languorously. “I _wondered_ why you kept glancing at me.”

“Oh, you knew,” Victoria said, making a noble but fruitless effort to keep her gaze above Ashley’s neckline. “You kept doing that… thing.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ashley said, rolling her neck the same way she’d been doing all evening to catch Victoria’s attention. She still fully intended to let her girlfriend (her _girlfriend!_ ) set the pace of their relationship, but she’d be lying if she didn’t enjoy… well, _tempting_ the other woman. If she were to dip back into her old manner of speech, she might describe it as ‘deliciously sinful’. 

Something glinted in Victoria’s eyes, and Ashley realised she’d miscalculated. Before, they’d been in public, they’d been busy, but now there was nothing holding Victoria back.

She surged forward, pressing Ashley against the wall, one hand around her waist and the other holding her head up, keeping her neck exposed for Victoria to-

“ _Fuck,_ ” Ashley hissed. The kiss Victoria had pressed against the hollow of her throat was almost rough enough to count as a bite, and the ones that followed as she continued upwards and around to the side were just as passionate. By the time she was nearing the jawbone, Ashley felt like her legs were about to give out on her entirely. Her arms wrapped around Victoria were the only thing keeping her upright, and even that was proving insufficient as the other woman gave up on the pretense entirely, sinking her teeth gently into flesh, the burst of pain drawing a shocked gasp from Ashley’s mouth.

Immediately, Victoria pulled back, leaving Ashley to sag against the wall. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- did I hurt you?”

Ashley had to take a second to get her breath back. Once she was confident in her legs’ ability to support her, she drew herself upright. 

“You make it very difficult,” she declared, still slightly out of breath, “to be patient.”

Victoria blinked, looking confused. “What… You sounded like you were in pain!”

Ashley couldn’t help but smirk. “Not _entirely_ inaccurate. Except for the part where you thought I wanted to stop.”

“You… didn’t?”

Ashley scoffed. “ _You_ were the one who wanted patience, remember? And here I worried I was being too blatant.”

If making Victoria blush ever got old, Ashley wouldn’t know. 

“I thought I was, you know, misreading you? I figured you’d be… more subtle, I guess.”

“Victoria Dallon.” Ashley let the name roll around in her mouth, mapping the shape and the taste of every sound and syllable. “In the entire time you’ve known me, have I _ever_ been ‘subtle’?”

“You’re... getting better?” she tried.

“Sweet of you, but no. I don’t do _subtle,_ I don’t _hint._ I say what I want, and I _take_ it.”

Something… _fierce_ flashed across Victoria’s face. “What do you _want,_ then?”

 _Finally._ Ashley could appreciate the hesitancy and blushing in moderation, but that wasn’t the woman she’d fallen for. 

“I want,” she started to purr, then paused. “I want,” she repeated instead, softer and less charged, “for you to feel safe. To set the pace.”

Victoria looked away. “Thank you-”

“But,” Ashley continued, letting the hum return to her voice, “when you _are_ ready…” 

She leaned forward, until her mouth was right next to Victoria’s ear. 

“I want _you_ ," she whispered, delighting in the shiver her words inspired. “I _want_ you, and I want you to want _me_ , I want you to _take_ me and _use_ me and leave me _mmrph_.”

Victoria silenced her with another furious kiss, hands running up into Ashley’s hair and holding her in place - not, of course, that she’d had any desire to pull away.

“I want that too,” Victoria murmured, their foreheads pressed together. “I- I want _you_ too.”

Between the words, and the heady, intoxicating scent of pine needles and metal that was all Victoria, Ashley felt like she was about to faint. 

“Are you sure?” she managed to ask, instead of losing herself in Victoria the way she wanted to. “If you’re not-”

Victoria shook her head, her hand at Ashley’s waist slipping down to twine their fingers together. 

“I want you,” she repeated, more confident this time. “I- I can’t make any promises, but I want to try. _Need_ to try, because I feel like I’m about to _explode_.”

“Oh?” Ashley couldn’t help but ask. “You haven’t been… _relieving pressure?_ ”

“I- it’s-” Victoria stammered, steam practically coming from her ears. “What, like you have?”

Ashley reached up with one hand, and gently tilted her girlfriend’s head up so they were making eye contact. 

“Victoria,” she said softly, “if I went through every time I’d touched myself while thinking of you, we’d be here all night.” The absolutely shell-shocked choking noise that Victoria made would be something Ashley would be treasuring for a _long_ time. “Not, of course, to suggest that that’s off the table.”

“It isn’t,” Victoria said firmly, recovering some of her composure. “I just…” 

Ashley waited while she collected her thoughts, familiar by now with her partner's tendency to excogitate. 

“Do you know, uh. I’m trying to remember if it has another name, but all I can come up with is ‘stoplights’. Like, red-yellow-green?”

“I’m aware of their existence, yes.”

Victoria rolled her eyes fondly. “It’s-,” she hesitated, grasping for words. “It’s a check-in, I guess. Shorthand. Green for go ahead, yellow for slow down, I’m uncomfortable, red is hit the brakes right now.”

“Mm,” Ashley murmured, comprehending. “So if I were to…” She started to trail her hand down towards the fly of Victoria’s jeans.

“Yellow,” she said immediately, and Ashley halted the movement. “Not red, I’m not saying _no_ , just… not yet? Slower?”

“Mm-hmm. I can handle slow _er_ ,” Ashley said, moving the hand upwards instead, sliding underneath the scratchy fabric of Victoria’s sweater, letting her fingers absorb the smooth texture of her skin, the brush of fine hairs and slight pebbling of goosebumps.

“Cold,” Vicky groused, explaining the latter. Then, after a second, “But green.”

“ _Finally._ ” Ashley’s hand had just reached the soft fabric of her bra, though, when Victoria suddenly grabbed it, pulling it back down and away. “...or not?”

“Still green,” she said, cheeks flushed. “I just… come on.” She started in the direction of their rooms, pulling Ashley along by her hand. “I want to do... _this,_ properly.”

“I certainly won’t object,” Ashley replied, letting herself be guided down the corridor. “Yours or mine?”

“Yours is bigger?”

“Mine it is.”

They stumbled into the room in a flurry of locked lips and tangled limbs. Someone could have set the apartment on fire (again), and Ashley wouldn’t have noticed. After four failed attempts to turn on the lights, she had to force herself away to find the switch, Victoria's hand still intertwined with hers, the contact setting her skin on fire..

As the warm soft lights came up, though, the contact disappeared, fingers slipping away.

Ashley turned almost immediately, closing the door behind her with one foot. "Victoria?"

“I- Okay,” Victoria said slowly, not so much looking _at_ Ashley as looking _through_ her. “Okay. If we’re, um. I know you’re- I know being in control is important for you, but-” she tucked an errant strand of hair behind one ear, then pulled it out and tucked it again, over and over. “This isn’t- I need to know that I’m making the decisions, or-”

Ashley took her chin gently, raising her face up so their gazes met. 

“I understand,” she murmured softly, delighting in how large Victoria’s pupils were, how dark her eyes had grown with anticipation. “I _can_ relinquish control, every now and then.”

Vicky’s lips quirked up at the corner, her eyes refocusing as she returned to herself. “Can you?”

“Well,” Ashley admitted, “surely the willingness to try counts for something.”

“Let’s hope.” Ashley got the sense that Victoria was speaking as much about herself as she was her.

“It does,” she reassured Victoria softly, drawing her in for another kiss. It was softer and more gentle than before, and left Ashley’s lips tingling as Victoria pulled away.

“You’re making the decisions,” Ashley murmured, Victoria’s gaze sweeping up and down her body leaving a wave of goosebumps in its wake. “What next?”

Victoria paused, tentative, nervous. 

“...can I-” She reached out, hands stopping just short of touching the straps of Ashley’s dress. “Can I see you?”

Ashley smirked, stepping forward so they made contact. 

“You’re in charge. You tell me.”

A little tremor ran through Victoria at her words, and it coursed down her arms and straight between Ashley’s legs, adding to the heat that had been pooling since that first passionate kiss at the door.

“Turn around,” Victoria said hoarsely, and she obliged, twirling slightly so her dress flared out, momentarily revealing her thighs. She could still see Victoria’s expression in the mirror on the door, and the way she looked down at Ashley’s shoulders and neck was more intoxicating than any fearful glance had ever been. The hesitant lip-bite, on the other hand, filled her with a startling warmth and affection.

“What are you waiting for?” she said softly, meeting Victoria’s gaze in the mirror.

Slowly, hesitantly, her hands brushed against Ashley’s shoulders and back, sending shivers through her at the brief contact. They found the zipper, and slowly pulled it down, the brief moments of skin-to-skin contact creating a path of heat down her spine, one that drew an entirely involuntary purr of arousal out of her chest.

Victoria’s hands returned to the now-loose straps, and she slowly pulled them off her shoulders. Ashley obligingly lifted her arms as they slipped down, letting them fall to the ground, taking the rest of the dress with it. She’d have to iron it, but in the moment she couldn’t bring herself to care that much. 

Ashley went braless a lot of the time - her chest was small enough that the slight amount of utility a bra gave was usually outweighed by the comfort of not having to wear one. Today had almost been one of those days, but a formless instinct had made her change her mind at the last moment, and the breathless little gasp that came from Victoria as her dress fell away to reveal the lacy black bra and panties vindicated that decision ten times over.

Ashley smirked, beginning to turn around, but suddenly Victoria’s hands were on her hips, effortlessly holding her in place. They were warm and solid as they pressed into her abdomen, and the calluses from years of fighting and hero work scraped slightly against her skin as they began to move, running slowly up the sides of her torso. 

Ashley suppressed a gasp, but Victoria barely seemed to notice, engrossed in the sight of her, the feel of her skin. Her hands dragged upwards, dipping in and out of the divots of Ashley’s ribs, and she twitched in anticipation as they drew perilously close to the bottom of her breasts. Instead of moving forward to cradle them, though, they moved backwards, running up the defined ridges of her shoulderblades before following the path of the dress’s straps across her shoulders and down her arms.

By the time they reached her wrists, Ashley was practically quivering with anticipation, but she froze as Victoria took hold of them, her middle fingers almost perfectly covering the seam of her hands.

“Are you okay?” Victoria whispered, obviously misinterpreting her reaction. 

“Not if you keep _taunting_ me like this,” Ashley whispered back, the quaver in her voice undercutting the sharp tone. Normally, she would’ve hated it, hated how it made her sound, but here, with her _,_ it felt _freeing_ , to allow herself to be vulnerable like she never could otherwise.

Victoria’s lips cracked into a shaky half-smile, and before Ashley could react, she stepped forward, using the grip on her wrists to pull them together, the length of her body pressed against Ashley’s back. Her head neck bent, and Ashley gave an embarrassingly loud moan as Victoria pressed a kiss against the side of her neck. 

As if emboldened by her reaction, Victoria grew more confident, kissing the same spot again before beginning to move upwards, the press of her lips becoming firmer as she reached the spot just below Ashley’s earlobe. There, she paused for a brief moment, hot breath spilling down her neck, before pressing back in with a soft nibble, teeth digging ever-so-slightly into the tender skin.

An incoherent, high-pitched noise slipped from Ashley’s throat at the contact, and she jerked involuntarily against the grip on her arms.

Immediately, Victoria let go, stepping back hurriedly. “I’m sorry,” she stammered, “are you- did I-”

Ashley sighed, turning to face her. “Did I say red?”

“...no.”

“Mm.” She stepped forward, taking Victoria’s wrists in a soft mirror of how they’d been moments ago. “So,” she continued, pulling them gently together until their faces were only inches apart, “until I do, you have permission to do…” and she leaned in until her mouth was right next to Victoria’s ear, “whatever… you… want.”

Ashley let go of her wrists, but before she could step back, Victoria’s arms encircled her, holding her close. 

“What I want,” she murmured breathily, drawing Ashley in for another kiss, “is for you,” she dragged her teeth across Ashley’s bottom lip, eliciting a low moan, “to stop being such a tease.” 

Ashley tried to lean in, but Victoria drew back, holding them apart. There was a smirk on her lips, but her eyes betrayed her worries of having gone too far. Only for a moment, though, because as soon as Ashley let her tongue flick out, Victoria’s gaze snapped down to follow it as it ran across her bottom lip. 

“Are you sure?” Ashley replied at the same volume. “You don’t seem very bother _oh!”_

The touch of lips against the hollow of Ashley's neck burned like fire, in the best possible way, and the bite that it quickly turned into was anything but gentle. Ashley buried her hands in the other woman's hair, unable to do much more than keep herself upright as Victoria worked her way downwards, kissing and biting along the length of her neck and collarbones, pausing occasionally to slowly lick away the beads of sweat that formed. One of her arms was wrapped around Ashley’s waist, holding her close, and the other held her side, gently caressing the dip of her waist in a manner that seemed entirely unconscious.

It didn’t remain there for long, though, and Ashley’s breath caught in her throat as Victoria moved down further, the hand at her back reaching up to the clasp of Ashley’s bra.

“Green,” Ashley gasped, before Victoria even had a chance to check. “Green, please, don’t- don’t stop.”

Victoria didn’t respond aloud, but her fingers working the clasp open served just fine as an answer. As it came undone, the other woman pulled back for the first time in what felt like an eternity, but her gaze remained locked on Ashley’s chest as she slowly pulled the bra away.

Ashley let the moment hang for a moment, sticking out her chest as best she was able, drinking in the attention. After a _few_ moments had passed, though, without any sort of change, she huffed out a sigh, and glanced down at Victoria’s hesitant face.

The other woman bit her lip, clearly conflicted. 

“Can I-” she started, but Ashley had had about enough.

“Stop _hesitating_ and _fuck_ me already,” Ashley snapped.

Immediately, she knew she’d gotten the reaction she wanted. Victoria’s nose flared, eyes narrowing slightly, and before Ashley could react she was being spun around and pushed down onto the bed, legs spread wide. 

Victoria leaned over her, one knee pressing into the bed _just_ below her centre, and pinned her arms to the bed with her own, before leaning down and capturing Ashley’s lips with her own. The kiss was rough, full of passion and desire - Victoria didn’t tend to use much tongue, but the way she used her teeth more than made up for it. Ashley let out a delighted little mewl. 

“Cute,” Victoria muttered into her lips, then pulled back. “I like seeing this side of you.”

“Naked?” Ashley asked with a smirk.

“... _open,_ I guess.”

Ashley made a show of pressing her legs together. “Oh?”

“Not like that,” Victoria laughed. “Emotionally. It’s a good look.”

“Mm. ‘Hesitant’, on the other hand, is doing you no favours right now.”

“Can you blame me?” Her gaze roved slowly down Ashley’s body. “There’s a lot to take in.”

Deliberately affecting an air of casualness, Ashley stretched out, closing her eyes and yawning. “Well, don’t take too long. I might start to get-”

Ashley didn’t even realise Victoria had moved until the finger against her lips cut off her words. Her eyes snapped open to find Victoria grinning mischievously, directly above her face. 

Ashley glanced down, and realised she’d used her flight to close the distance without making any sound. “That’s cheating.”

“There are rules?”

“Mm…” Ashley grabbed her by the sweater and pulled her down until they were nose to nose. “It’s more the spirit of the thing.”

Victoria stole a quick kiss. 

“Well, if you say so.” A second later, she dropped out of the air, sandwiching Ashley against the bed as gravity reasserted itself. 

The impact knocked the breath out of her lungs, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Not when Victoria’s head had ended up directly above her breasts, when despite propping herself up on her hands, her eyes never left them.

Ashley licked her finger and thumb, then reached down and tweaked one of her own nipples, leaving it pert and hard. She let out an exaggerated gasp as she did - a girl was allowed to have some fun, surely?

“Very convincing,” Victoria said dryly. 

Or, maybe not. 

“Hurry up so I don’t have to pretend, then.”

Victoria tilted her head to the side in acknowledgement, then leant down until she was just above Ashley’s chest. 

“I’ve got to admit,” she murmured, each word sending another tantalising brush of air across the wet nipple, “I think I’m starting to understand the appeal.”

“Hmm. Now I’m concerned I’m setting your standards too high.”

She’d meant it as a joke, but Victoria’s eyes as she looked up were completely serious.

“Probably,” she agreed, and the shiver that ran through Ashley at that had nothing to do with arousal.

Well, _almost_ nothing.

Too flustered to reply, Ashley watch as Victoria’s mouth slowly descended, growing closer and closer and...

Ashley let out a groan, as Victoria stopped _just_ before making contact. 

“You are being _incredibly-”_

Without waiting for her to finish, Victoria _finally_ took the nipple into her mouth, the sudden sensation driving the breath from Ashley’s lungs in a startled gasp. 

Victoria began to work the sensitive nub of flesh, slowly at first but rapidly gaining in confidence, nipping and teasing, rolling it around between her lips and teeth, using Ashley’s reactions to tailor her approach. She was leaving the other nipple frustratingly unattended, but when Ashley reached one hand up to try and rectify that, she quickly found it pinned to the bed by Victoria’s, leaving her completely helpless. 

Ashley didn’t know if it was intentional on the other woman’s part, but either way, it was so close to her fantasies that almost felt unreal. She pushed back against the other woman, and found her unrelenting, iron-hard muscle effortlessly holding in her place, and that knowledge sent a rush running through her - not fear, exactly, but a close cousin, if a more pleasant one. The knowledge that she was utterly helpless (not that she truly was when she had her power, but it _felt_ as if she was), that Victoria could do whatever she wanted with her, _to_ her…

Ashley twitched involuntarily at the thought as heat spiked in her stomach, and the motion pushed her against Victoria’s grip again, creating a feedback loop of pleasure and not-quite-fear as she writhed and moaned.

“Vic,” she managed to gasp, breathless and panting. “Please.”

Her girlfriend paused, glancing up at her. “Please what?” she asked, not quite managing to hide the desire in her eyes.

“Are you- really going to make me say it?”

“Ash. I’ve never done this before. I genuinely don’t know what you’re asking me to do.”

“Oh,” Ashley said, mollified and strangely aroused. “Then- touch me. Please.”

Victoria blinked. 

“ _...oh_ ,” she echoed. 

“...green?”

“Right, um.” She shook her head slightly, like she was clearing it. “Green, yeah. Just caught me off-guard.”

“...what did you think this entailed?”

“I…” She flushed. “Mostly… scissoring? Strap-ons? I mean, I did research, and-”

Ashley couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Geek,” she said fondly, pulling Victoria up to bump their foreheads together. “Just… communicate, and do what feels natural. The rest will sort itself out.”

“You’re sure?” Victoria asked nervously. 

Ashley took one of her hands by the wrist and guided it down to her abdomen, pushing aside the black lace to reveal her forest of stark white curls. “Check for yourself.”

She released her grip, but Victoria’s hand remained where it was. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.

_You say that like it’s a bad thing._

Ashley managed to avoid saying that out loud - a bit too much for their first time. 

“You won’t,” she said instead, before drawing her down into a kiss that started out gentle, but quickly turned rough, leaving her lightheaded and dizzy.

Victoria broke away as her hand _finally_ dipped between Ashley’s legs, but as soon as it made contact, she froze, eyes wide.

“Oh,” Victoria breathed softly, her fingers brushing lightly over her folds. “You’re so _wet_.” Ashley let out a strained moan, both at the contact and at the sheer awe in her voice. “I… you really…?”

“Who- else?” Ashley gasped, desperately pushing her hips up and into the contact. “Oh- _Vic_.” She felt like she was about to explode. “If you don’t-”

“Tell me… tell me what you want.” A command, not a question, despite the hesitance.

“You. Inside. I need it, just-”

The noise that Victoria made at that almost brought Ashley to climax on its own. It pushed her self-control to her limits to hold it off - or not, it turned out, because it was strained even further a moment later as a single finger slid inside her.

She let out a strangled gasp, bucking and writhing against Victoria’s grip. 

“Vic, you-” 

Her eyelids felt like they were made of lead, and it took a monumental effort to keep them open as she met Victoria’s gaze. Her pupils were so wide that the blue was barely visible at the edges, her breathing heavy, her expression full of awe. 

“God,” she murmured, barely audible. “You’re- so beautiful.” 

Once again, the feeling that surged through Ashley at that had nothing to do with sex, but felt just as good. She lifted her head, and Victoria obligingly reached down and captured her lips in another kiss, soft and gentle this time, the passion hidden behind a layer of tender concern. Ashley bit at her lips, wrapping her arms around her torso, but as she did, Victoria’s finger started moving inside her and she lost all control of her body, falling back to the bed with an earsplitting moan.

“Is this okay?” Victoria asked as she settled into a rhythm, pushing in and out, the heel of her hand pressing against her clit.

Ashley could barely string two words together, but she managed to choke out a strangled “yes”, followed by a deluge of blisteringly-foul profanity. She could feel the orgasm coming now, building like a wave in her core, a tense and coiling heat.

“More,” she begged, unable to keep her eyes open as she rocked against Victoria’s hand. “ Another-” 

Almost instantly, the second digit slipped in alongside the first, and she whimpered at the sensation, tipping on the very edge. But she needed- something, she was so close, but it was just. _Something_. 

“Victoria,” she whispered, between gasps. “Please.”

She hadn’t intended to ask for anything, didn’t even know what she was asking _for,_ but before she’d even finished asking, Victoria was there, mouth right next to Ashley’s ear. 

“That’s it,” she whispered. “You’re doing so good.” 

Her breath was hot on Ashley’s ear and neck as she continued whispering words of encouragement and praise, and her fingers curled in _just_ the right way, and-

Ashley cried out as she came, eyes rolling back in her head as she clamped down on Victoria’s fingers, nails digging into her girlfriend’s back as she clung to her like a liferaft in a storm. Consciousness escaped her, pushed out by the waves of pleasure, and for a short while, the world stopped existing as she rode them out, bucking against the hand that held her and the hand inside her in equal measure.

After what felt like an eternity, she drifted back down to her body, draped leaden and limp over the duvet. Sensation returned slowly, and it took her a few moments to recognise them for what they were - warm soreness in her muscles, hot breath against a cheek, motionless fingers still inside her.

Her eyes fluttered open to find Victoria staring at her, mouth slightly agape and cheeks flushed. 

“...Ash,” she whispered breathlessly.

“Mmm,” Ashley responded, stretching slowly and enjoying the aftershocks the movement brought. Without breaking eye contact, she reached down, taking the hand inside her and pulling it up to her mouth. 

Victoria’s eyes widened even further, and a tiny whimper slipped from her lips as Ashley took the still-sticky fingers into her mouth, licking them clean. The taste was sweet and musky, not entirely unpleasant, and her body was already responding, nipples perking up again. _Not yet,_ she thought, and withdrew the hand, letting it fall as she leaned forward and kissed Victoria.

“If you lied to me,” she said with a smirk as she pulled away, “about this being your first time, I will be _very_ disappointed.”

“I’ve- had sex before!” Vicky protested, trying and failing to affect a casual air despite her pupils being as wide as saucers.. “Not… like this, but it’s not like it’s completely different.”

Ashley found she could move her limbs again, and so she propped herself up on her elbows, enjoying the tender burn of exertion that hadn’t quite had time to settle into soreness.

“You say that now,” she smirked. Victoria was still fully clothed, and while that wasn’t necessarily a problem on its own, Ashley had waited too long for this to not see every inch of her. “For example,” she said, enjoying the catch in her girlfriend’s breathing as she stretched, “there’s a degree of _reciprocity_ required.”

“I’ve... had orgasms before as well, Ash.”

“Do you really want to argue about this _now?_ ”, Ashley asked, rolling her eyes. 

Victoria laughed, the soft, quiet one that made Ashley’s heart melt. “I guess not.” 

Ashley reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind Victoria’s ear, letting her hand linger for a moment as her girlfriend’s breath quickened at the touch.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” she asked plainly. No sultriness, no affect; she didn’t want to make it about that.

Victoria’s breath stuttered, and one hand flew to her face. Ashley sat up straight, worried she’d gone too far, but she could see a small smile peeking out from behind her hand, along with flaming cheeks.

“ _How_ is that so hot,” she murmured, barely audible. 

Ashley leaned back on her elbows, smirking. “I’m not hearing an answer.”

“Well… it’s only fair, right?” Victoria’s voice had gone a little odd, flat and strangely calm. “I got to undress you, you get to do the same. I got to-” she waved a hand, “so you…”

“Vic…”

“I don’t want you to feel like you _have_ to reciprocate _,_ I guess.” She wasn’t meeting Ashley’s eyes. “This was- I just don’t want you to feel obligated, and-”

Ashley took her hand, intertwining their fingers.

“That’s not what I asked, Vic. Do you _want_ me to do that?”

Her voice was barely above a whisper. “...no, not really.”

Ashley nodded. “Then I won’t.” She reached up to cup Victoria’s face with one hand, wiping away a tear with the pad of her thumb. “I’m- sorry. If I made you uncomfortable, with the flirting. And the innuendo.”

The hand dropped, to reveal wide eyes. “Ash, that’s- _no_ , you didn’t. Please don’t apologise for that, you didn’t do anything wrong and I would’ve said if you had. It’s not- it’s nothing to do with you.”

“I know. So what _do_ you want, then? To leave it there?” Ashley would be lying if she said she wouldn’t be disappointed, but she knew that saying as much would be unfair. 

Victoria sat in silence for a few moments, eyes shadowed by her hair.

“...no,” she said at last, then repeated it more confidently. “No, I don’t. I just…” she moved, climbing on top of Ashley’s lap, the weight of her heavy but not uncomfortable. “I know it’s a lot to ask again, but can I… direct you?”

Just like that, Ashley was ready to go again. 

“Of course,” she said hoarsely. “I won’t do a thing until you tell me too.”

Victoria nodded slowly, then leaned down and stole another kiss. 

“Thank you,” she whispered in Ashley’s ear, then leant back, hands going to her waist.

Before Ashley could react, Victoria was pulling her sweater and shirt up together with both hands, revealing her plain sports bra and the swell of her stomach and hips. 

“Vic-” Ashley said, voice slightly strangled. “You don’t-” 

“I know,” she said. Her voice was steady, gaze calm. “I want to.”

Ashley nodded, too breathtaken to form words. She wanted to reach out, to run her hands over the curve of Victoria’s hips, to feel the firm muscle she knew was present just below the soft warmth. She wanted to brush over the faint stretch marks around her hips, the slight mottled texture, and place kisses on every single one, she wanted to kiss _everywhere_ she could reach, show exactly what she thought about her body, to try and convince her-

-but that wasn’t her decision to make. Maybe eventually, but Victoria had to set the pace there, and everywhere else. It still felt strange, to give up that level of control and authority so easily, but where she might have chafed against that in the past, it just felt- wrong, to make it about her. 

She’d wait as long as Victoria needed, without complaint, and so instead she settled her hands back on the bed, as Victoria slowly reached up and pulled down her bra, not breaking eye contact the entire time. Perched on Ashley’s lap like she was, her breasts were level with Ashley’s face, and it was a struggle to keep her eyes above the neckline.

“You can look,” Victoria said softly.

“What if I don’t want to?” Ashley joked, leaning in to plant a kiss against the hollow of her throat. As she drew back, though, her eyes were drawn down, almost like a gravitational pull. 

Once, out of curiosity, Ashley had looked up Victoria online - or, her old hero persona. There hadn’t been anything particularly noteworthy, nothing that she hadn’t already told the team or that Ashley hadn’t been able to pick up from context, but there had also been a few costumed photos. A small part of Ashley’s brain, one she’d firmly ignored at the time, had noted that her friend seemed to be… somewhat bustier in the past than the present. Given the stories she’d heard about Victoria’s upbringing, she’d just assumed that her old costume had been padded.

That turned out to be an incorrect assumption.

“Are you going to do anything,” Victoria laughed after a second, “or just keep staring?”

Ashley forced herself to look upwards, raising an eyebrow. “Not until you say it’s okay.”

Victoria blinked, then something complex flashed across her face for just a moment. “...right. You can touch me.”

“What’s the magic word?” Ashley couldn’t help but tease.

She’d been expecting an eye-roll, or a bit of banter, but instead one of Victoria’s hands wrapped firmly around her neck, pulling her inwards.

“It wasn’t a question,” she said.

 _Oh god._ If she kept this up, Ashley might just come again before she did. She obediently leaned in and gently licked a ring around one puffy nipple, tracing the edge of the dusky pink areola with her tongue.

The noise that Victoria made was soft, barely audible, but it still sent shivers down her spine. The grip on the back of Ashley’s neck tightened imperceptibly, short nails digging into her skin.

“God, that’s- keep doing that,” Victoria said hoarsely. 

Ashley paused for a moment, drawing away just to see what would happen. Sure enough, Victoria pulled her back in, firmly and insistently. With her curiosity satisfied, and her thighs slick, she got to work, gently licking and rubbing and kissing at Victoria’s breasts, switching back and forth as much as she could, working her nipples into stiff, firm peaks. After that first little gasp, Victoria had remained mostly silent apart from the soft sound of her breath, and Ashley had made it her unspoken mission to draw as much noise from her as she could. She bit down, just a little bit harder than before, and the soft inhalation she received in response was worth its weight in gold. She began picking up the intensity slowly, growing bolder with her nips and bites, until Victoria finally pulled her away, chest rising and falling slightly, face flushed and eyes blown out wide and dark.

“Give me your hand,” she instructed. Her grip on Ashley’s wrist was firm (and slightly sticky) as she guided her hand down across the plane of her stomach, down into pants that had been unzipped at some point, brushing past coarse hairs and down into slick, wet heat. 

Ashley held in a gasp, fingers twitching instinctively against Victoria. It felt like she’d just placed her hand into a sauna, as hot and wet as it was. She moved slowly, glancing up to check it was okay with Victoria before begin to rub against her in short, tentative strokes.

“What do you want?” she whispered.

In response, Victoria’s hand took hers again, holding it in place and manipulating the fingers so that Ashley’s middle and ring stood up straight, before gently sliding them inside her.

“Stay there,” Victoria told her. Not harsh, just… steady. Firm. She began to move, slowly rolling her hips, fucking herself against Ashley’s hand. Her eyes were closed, her face was turned upwards, and in the soft yellow light she almost seemed to glow.

It was one of the most beautiful things Ashley had ever seen. 

For the first few seconds, all she could do was stare up at Victoria, at the dip of her throat, the rise and fall of her chest, the slight movement of her lips. Her breathing was slow and steady, but in a deliberate, controlled way, and it synced up with the faint, wet noises of her movements. It was almost torturous, only being able to watch, and she clenched her thighs together, rubbing them against each other to try and find some relief.

One of Victoria’s hands wrapped around the back of her head again, holding her firm. Victoria’s eyes opened just enough to make contact with her own, and although she said nothing, the meaning was clear as she directed Ashley’s head back down to her breasts. Ashley was more than happy to comply, as she began working a nipple gently with her tongue, bringing it back to a firm peak before turning her attention to the other.

Victoria continued to move, fucking herself on Ashley’s fingers, growing more enthusiastic and forceful as she found her rhythm. Her breaths were heavier now, coming faster despite her obvious efforts as she ground herself down against Ashley’s fingers. Tiny noises slipped free from her throat; faint, breathy pants and gasps, and a whisper of something that sounded like Ashley’s name. 

Ashley couldn’t take any more, and without removing her mouth from Victoria’s breast, slipped her free hand between her own legs, rubbing at her clit with a frantic energy. She was already so close, just from watching Victoria pleasure herself on her fingers, and it was bare moments before she came again, softer and quieter than the first time, more of a rolling wave than a bright burst.

“Ash,” Victoria whispered, and she looked up to find lidded, blown-out eyes staring down at her, and then she was clenching around Ashley’s fingers as she came, with a long, slow exhalation of breath that seemed to draw all the energy out of her. 

Ashley was starstruck, watching the way the light refracted through the beads of sweat on her forehead, the flare and release of her nostrils, the faint fluttering of her eyelashes. She drooped forward, resting against Ashley’s shoulder as her breathing started to slow, and Ashley caressed her gently through the comedown, drawing shivers and little twitches from her.

Ashley let Victoria’s weight bring them down gently onto the bed, until they were both lying there, Victoria half-curled on top of her, still fully clothed in contrast with Ashley’s nakedness. Her head rested against Ashley’s collarbone, and for a few minutes, they just lay there, Victoria’s breath vibrating through her ribcage. At one point, Ashley went to stroke her hair, but remembered her hands were still sticky just in time to draw back.

Eventually, Ashley felt Victoria shift against her slightly and roll off to the side, repositioning them so that Ashley was resting in the crook of her neck, cradled up against her.

“Was that okay?” Ashley asked.

“Yeah, that was- wow. Really, really wow.” Victoria started rubbing absent-minded circles into her shoulder with a thumb, and Ashley relaxed into the contact. “I mean, it’s been- a while, but still.”

“How long? If you don’t mind my asking, that is?”

The circles stopped for a moment before resuming. 

“..four years, give or take.”

Ashley blinked, twisting her neck at a slightly awkward angle to look at her. “...I suppose my one year doesn’t seem so bad, then.”

Victoria laughed softly. “You were dead for a while there, I think you get a pass.”

They were both dancing around the topic of Victoria’s own ‘pass’, and they both knew it, but… that was okay. 

“Can I ask what it was? Your last time, I mean. Were you dating someone, or…”

Ashley shrugged one shoulder, nestling closer. “Just a one-time thing.”

“I didn’t think you were the type for that, to be honest.”

“Mm. That’s why it was a year ago. But it was the first time I’d had my own place, my own income and control of my powers. I’d figured out I liked women, but hadn’t been able to _do_ anything with that, and I suppose I thought it couldn’t hurt.”

“Ah. I was a little curious how you were so… experienced.”

Ashley smirked, leaning up to playfully nip at her neck. 

“It was only one night,” she confirmed, “but it was a _long_ night.”

“Let me guess; she tied you up, or handcuffed you, or something similar.”

“...so you noticed that, then.”

Victoria laughed again, the sound vibrating through her. 

“Ash, you have two separate paintings about bondage. I already knew.”

“And you didn’t even consider the possibility that it could be the other way around?”

“Right,” Victoria said. “So in that case, you’d have absolutely no interest in me tying you up and making you scream my name?” Her voice had slowed down as she spoke, growing lower and huskier, until by the end it was barely more than a throaty whisper.

Ashley had never been more glad she wasn’t the blushing type. 

“I don’t have any strong feelings one way or the other,” she lied, then immediately made an embarrassingly high-pitched noise as Victoria’s hand dipped between her legs.

“Oh, absolutely,” Victoria teased, running her fingers through the evidence of her arousal. “I can tell.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Ashley warned her, doing her best to maintain her composure. 

“You can hold me to this one, I promise.” She withdrew her hand, going to wipe it on the sheets, but hesitated and glanced at Ashley.

“Go ahead,” Ashley said. “I’ll have to wash them anyway.”

“Right,” Victoria said, a little embarrassed. “We should probably put down some towels next time. Especially if you’re going to do… _that_ again.”

“That?”

Victoria pointed wordlessly, and Ashley followed her finger to the mirror, where a few drops of liquid had-

“Ah,” she said after a moment. “That’s… new.”

“Well, I guess we need to do some more research,” Victoria said, mock-suggestively, placing a hand on Ashley’s stomach. “See if the results are repeatable-”

A faint rumble interrupted her as Ashley’s body reacted to the touch in a slightly different way than expected.

“...after we make some dinner,” Victoria amended.

Ashley didn’t regret the course the evening had taken, but it had been a long day not even counting their… _exertions._

“Dinner sounds good,” she agreed. “We have the leftovers of the curry - you warm that up and I’ll clean up in here?”

"Sure, after I've changed." Victoria stood up slowly, stretching out her arms one after the other. “I think we’re out of rice, though?”

“Is there any of that bread left, the one-”

“The rye? I think so, yeah. I’ll toast up some of that, then.”

Ashley nodded, standing up. She debated taking a quick shower - her thighs and hands were sticky, and she’d sweated quite a bit - but if Victoria wanted to, as she’d so charmingly put it, do some more research…

She’d clean herself with her power, she decided, and see where the evening went from there.

Victoria had stopped in the doorway, glancing back at her, and Ashley felt warmth bubbling up in her chest at the sight. 

Words had never been her strong suit, not when it mattered, and so instead she moved over to Victoria, took her face in her hands and kissed her, trying to convey everything she wanted say through the contact.

When she drew away, Victoria was looking at her strangely.

“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that about?”

Ashley stepped back, worrying she’d crossed a line. “I… I just wanted to make sure you understood that I-” well, not _that,_ she wasn’t ready to be that much of a cliche just yet, “ _care_ about you. A great deal.”

Victoria’s face softened, and she stepped forward, taking Ashley’s hands by the wrists. 

“Of course I know, Ash,” she said softly. “That was very sweet, and I care about you too. It’s just...” 

She lifted Ashley’s hands into view.

“… maybe wash your hands first next time.”

**Author's Note:**

> usual disclaimers about how this isnt really 100% canonical victoria characterisation cause we've never seen her actually be happy  
> anyhoo this is probably the last thing ill write for this pairing, and for ward in general excluding wake - barring exceptional circumstances obviously. quite frankly ive been feeling like that energy is better served working on other stuff - original content, or fanworks for stuff that's. better. about queer stuff. anyway consider this a finale of sorts to NPS, its been fun, see you space cowboys, etc, like and subscribe, whatever. thanks for reading!


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